Psych 125
Human Development
Christopher Gade
Office: 1031-G
Office hours: Tu 12-1:30 and by apt.
Email: gadecj@gmail.com
Class: T 1:30-4:20 Room 2210
Paper Time…
• Let’s turn in your second papers
• Cumulative grades will be posted after the exam
next week
Questions to Debate
• Are humans the only species that communicate in
a way that we would identify as language?
– If not, what species do communicate
through language and how do they do it?
– If so, what is it about animal communication
that doesn’t qualify it as language?
• Are we naturally inclined to develop a specific
language (e.g. are some people programmed to
speak Spanish)?
• Are we naturally inclined to develop some form
of communication that reflects language?
Defining Today’s Topic
• Language – a form of communication, whether
spoken, written, or signed that is based on a
system of symbols
• Types of language
– Oral
– Sign
– Written
• Note: written language is
HUGE because we don’t
even have to be there in
order to communicate
through this medium
The Benefits Of Language
• Let’s list of some of the benefits of language…
• An overview:
– Allows for effective communication of ideas
• Time saving
• Topic specific
– Aids in exchange of information
• Unshared experiences
– Different perspectives
– Generational information
• Current ideas and thoughts
• Future plans
– Infinite generativity – the ability to produce an endless
number of messages
The Rules of Spoken Language
• Despite there being a number of different spoken
languages, each has a collection of simple rules
that must be learned in order to use the language
correctly
– Phonology – the basic sounds that are used in a
language
• Phoneme – the basic unit of sound in a language
• Note: each language has their own phonemes, some of
these overlap between languages, others do not (ex. the
rolled r in Spanish, and the “th” and “L” in English)
• Let’s try to identify the phonemes…
– Just before I went home, I remembered that I had to call Suzie.
Other Rules of Spoken Language
• Morphology – the units of meaning involved in word
formation
– Examples: “run” = 1 unit, “runner” = 2 units, run + er (“er”
= one who)
– Note: morphology can be of non-words (“er”), and they
can change over time (ex. Photogate)
• Syntax – the way words are combined to form
acceptable phrases and sentences
– Syntax often helps us determine order and meaning
• “Bob went to Tom’s house for a drink”
• “A Tom went to drink for Bob’s house”
– Syntax changes dramatically with each language
• English = “The cat”, “the cats”, “the mouse”, “the mice”
• French = “Le chat”, “Les chats”
Some Final Rules of Spoken Language
• Semantics – the meaning of a word
– Note: many words can have multiple semantics
• “The man hit the bat with a bat.”
• “I can can my own vegetables.”
– Note: sentences can have proper syntax, but
inappropriate semantics
• “The grass watched the orange ear run the red shoe”
• Pragmatics – the appropriate use of words based
on the situation
– “Give me that” versus “can I borrow that”
– “Vous-etez” versus “est-ce que” in France
Looking into Development and Language
By Reviewing a Previous Question
• Are we naturally inclined to develop some form
of communication that reflects language?
– The Wild Boy of Aveyron example (1799, France)
– Genie (1970, Los Angeles)
• If this shows that language is
not innate, which it might not
show, how do we perfect our
use of language and learn to
follow the rules of language
In the next section…
• In the next portion of class we’ll look at
development and language by examining:
– Milestones of language development that occur
throughout life
– Challenges in language that occur during different
stages in development
– Changes in language trends that occur during the
lifespan
The Infant Development Milestones
• Regardless of the spoken language, most infants,
when not exposed to extremely atypical
situations, experience the same milestones in
language development
• Early vocalizations
– Crying (at birth) to display displeasure
– Cooing (2-4 months) to express joy or pleasure
– Babbling (6 months – 1 year) – producing strings of
consonants
• Maybe to practice using language
Other Early Milestones
• Recognition of language sounds (birth)
– Experiments on phoneme changes and responses
– “Citizens of the word” findings (up to 6 months)
– Note on how difficult it is to recognize these specifics
• Listening for pauses tasks
• http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=weR8hK2u3Q4
• Gesturing (8-12 months)
• Gaze following (11 months)
The Big First Milestone: The First Word
• Usually occurs between 10 and 15 months of age
• Is realistically merely a small step in the language
process (sounds, gestures, and recognition of up
to 50 sounds have already been accomplished)
– Spoken vocabulary – words that a child uses
– Receptive vocabulary – words that a child recognizes
– There is a
considerable gap
between the first
words and the
vocabulary spurt that
eventually occurs
Language Development Into Childhood
• At 18 to 24 months, infants begin using two-word
utterances
• These utterances quickly turn into three, four,
five, and beyond word utterances (years 2-3)
• These masteries involve the child’s ability to
recognize the phonemes and semantics of their
language
– Note: the more languages a child is exposed to, the
more phonemes and semantics that child needs to
learn. This often slows down this developmental
process.
The Amazing Language Abilities of Children
• Word mastery
– From about 1 ½ years to 6 years of age, children are
learning approximately 1 word per waking hour (10-14
words a day)
• Morphology learning
– Children are constantly presented with challenges to
learn the appropriate endings and combinations of
sounds that we use with words
• “I ate an apple” “I ate a cookie”
• “I pet the cats” “Pet the cats” “I ran the race” “Run the race”
• “I saw the goose” “I saw the geese” “I saw the cow” “I saw
the cows”
A Note on Language Development
• Our surrounding environment, in particular our
socio-economic status, has a huge impact our
vocabulary development
Late Childhood Language Development
• By about 5 to 6 years, children begin to develop
pragmatic speech skills
• Their syntax skills also increase dramatically
• Reading skills also begin to develop at this age,
this indicates the beginning of a third way to
communicate
– Recognition of symbols
– Phonics approach - Association of symbols with
sounds
– Whole-language approach - Recognition of
combinations of symbols that make specific sounds
The Development of Writing Skills
• Much like spoken language development versus
recognition of language development writing
skills develop much slower than reading skills
– Fine motor skill causes
– Recognition of the appropriate symbols versus merely
identifying symbols
– Note: development of good writing
skills extends beyond childhood, it
also requires a lot of effort
• Perfecting syntax
• Organizing ideas
• Creating coherence
Later Language Development
• Adolescence
– Marked by increases in vocabulary
and use of the vocabulary
– Pragmatic skills are increase
– The ability to “play” with language also develops
• Satire skills (sarcasm, wit, and derision)
• Dialect skills (“learning the lingo”)
• Adulthood
– Vocabulary continues to increase in adulthood, but at a
much slower rate
– Language skills vary dramatically based on education and
experience
– Language tendencies also seem to become very set after
we reach adulthood
Aging and Language
• Though our vocabulary seems to always be increasing
with age, our ability to retrieve words appears to
decline as we get into our later years (60+)
– Memory related
– Tip of the tongue phenomenon
• Our ability to follow language (conversation) also
appears to slow with age
– Hearing related (remember the curve)
– Reaction time related
• Note: any physical ailments related to aging (e.g.
Alzheimers) can have a significant impact on the
language skills of the elderly
Closing Class By Reviewing a Question
• Are humans the only species that communicate in
a way that we would identify as language?
• Answer: Probably not, but we’re exceptionally
good at it compared to other species
• Why?
– Brain specificity
• Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas
– Cognitive tendencies
(joint attention skills)
– Natural teaching skills
• Scaffolding
• “Baby tone”
That’s It…
• This marks the end of the material for this
section.
• Make sure that you’ve read every chapter
associated with this section by next week.
• Make sure that you’ve gone over each classes
slides by then as well.
• You’ll need a #2 pencil and a scantron sheet for
this exam, just like the last time.